2. Injisuthi Battle Cave Walk

Duration 5 hours Difficulty Easy Cost R70 pp hiking fee (including guide), R40 day visitor entry

A multitude of hiking routes begin from Injisuthi Camp in central Drakensberg, but this 11-kilometre return walk is the most accessible introduction to the mountain wilderness. On this walk, your destination is Battle Cave, a huge sandstone overhang dotted with rock paintings. The cave itself is fenced off so you’ll need to book a community guide at the camp to accompany you. From the camp, walk a short way back down the main road to the first bridge over the river, then follow the gently rising path alongside it. A few kays on, just upstream from the junction of the Injisuthi and Mbovaneni Rivers, Battle Cave looms large. Move closer, and the rock comes to life with exquisite paintings of eland, the San’s most commonly painted animal. Look out for two paintings of rhinos, and the therianthropes (half-human, half-animal figures). On the far right of the shelter, look for the Bushman about to shoot an arrow from his bow, and the one with a spear. Another holds an axe, and yet more seem to be clustered in a tussle, with arrows flying around them. It’s one of the very few paintings that shows an act of aggression or hunting, but perhaps this is not a literal battle scene but a depiction of the magic and power that shamans were able to harness. – Scott Ramsay

DO IT Injisuthi is my favourite KZN Wildlife campsite in the mountains, between Monk’s Cowl and Giant’s Castle, with fewer chalets than other bigger camps. There is only a small shop for supplies, and the long, winding potholed R331 access road (off the R600 from Winterton) deters most visitors. Four-bed chalet R660 for two, R310 per extra adult. Camping R95 pp. 036-431-9000, kznwildlife.com